Wet winter weather brings cleaner air & fewer no-burn days
The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) reported that Southern California’s wet winter brought cleaner air and the fewest no-burn days since the 2012-2013 winter season.
Officials said due to the winter’s potentially drought-busting rainy weather, the region has only had eight no-burn days this year. The 2012-2013 winter season only had five no-burn alerts issued.
“In spite of this winter’s relatively low number of no-burn days, we are continuing to seek the public’s help to stay informed of, and comply with, no-burn alerts through our Check Before You Burn program,” said Wayne Nastri, SCAQMD’s executive officer.
Significant differences over past five Check Before You Burn seasons:
2012-2013 – 5 days 2013-2014 – 16 days 2014-2015 – 25 days 2015-2016 – 14 days 2016-2017 – 8 days
District officials explained that wet winters typically result in cleaner air quality for PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) because the rain cleanses the air and storms create unsettled conditions in the atmosphere preventing the buildup of pollutants.
According to a news release, under the Check Before You Burn program, the SCAQMD, in consultation with staff meteorologists, will issue a 24-hour no-burn alert for residential fireplaces and outdoor fire pits and wood stoves when stagnant weather raises PM2.5 to the upper Moderate range or higher.
Alerts are issued when elevated levels of PM2.5 are forecast for specific areas or the entire South Coast Air Basin. The Check Before You Burn season runs every year from November 1 through the last day of February, according to the SCAQMD.
Favorable weather this winter, including stronger winds and significant rainfall, led to better dispersion and more pollutants being washed out of the air instead of building up over several days.
Ongoing emission controls such as no-burn day restrictions, home owners that replaced their wood-burning fireplaces and stoves with natural gas logs encouraged by SCAQMD incentives, and fireplace limitations for new homes, as well as other significant programs like the diesel truck incentive programs also helped improve air quality this winter, SCAQMD officials said.
